Jurgens Rips Into "Time Masters"

Booster Gold gets some help in his time travelling adventures in "Time Masters: Vanishing Point"

As the writer and artist on one of the mega comic events of all-time, "The Death of Superman," Dan Jurgens is no stranger to stepping up to the plate when the DC Universe is in need. So with Bruce Wayne missing in action now for more than a year, it was time to bring Jurgens into the fold. And he brought some friends.

In July, DC Comics will launch "Time Masters: Vanishing Point," a six-issue miniseries that will serve as a companion piece to Grant Morrison's "Batman: The Return of Bruce Wayne."

The title features Rip Hunter assembling a team of time travelers tasked with finding Batman, who has been lost in time since the final pages of "Final Crisis."

The recruitment drive went well for Rip as he has landed the services of three of the world's greatest heroes: Superman, Green Lantern and Booster Gold. OK, maybe two of the world's greatest heroes.

And not to add any pressure on the new Time Masters but finding Bruce Wayne will also stop Vanishing Point - the place where time ends - from tearing itself apart.

Jurgens told CBR News that readers can expect to see the Linear Men playing a role in "Time Masters: Vanishing Point." The Linear Men, including Waverider Matthew Ryder and Liri Lee, are devoted to maintaining the equilibrium of the time stream and preventing unwarranted divergences (like maybe the death of Batman).

The fan favorite creator also teased that "Time Masters: Vanishing Point" may lead directly into 2011's event series, "Flashpoint," by the superstar creative team of Geoff Johns and Andy Kubert.

CBR News: This series rides shotgun to Grant Morrison's "The Return of Bruce Wayne." Was "Time Masters: Vanishing Point" always on the table, or did it come about organically as Bruce's eventual return started to work itself out?

Dan Jurgens: I think it was more of an organic outgrowth of what was happening in "The Return of Bruce Wayne." Once plans for that were firmed up, this became more of a natural.

How did you writing and drawing this series come about? Was "Time Masters: Vanishing Point" your pitch, or did DC come to you?

[DCU Co-Publisher] Dan DiDio approached us with the idea of finding a way to tie into it. Since Booster had already gone down the road of "Shouldn't I have gone back in time to stop Batman's death?" in "Booster Gold" #21, it was, as I said earlier, a natural. Plus, if there is any such thing as a Time Master in the DCU, Rip and Booster almost have to be involved.

We read the official announcement at The Source, but what can you tell us about this miniseries?

I think most people know that, with "The Return of Bruce Wayne," it's been discovered that Bruce Wayne isn't dead. He was actually thrown back into the past.

"Time Masters" tells the story of those who join in the search for Bruce. Rip Hunter, Booster Gold, Green Lantern and Superman, as well as a few other surprises who'll show up. In addition, it starts to set the table for some rather big events down the road. As if that isn't enough, we continue to explore the relationship between Booster and Rip.

For those of you who don't know, Booster is actually Rip Hunter's father, though Booster is totally unaware of that fact.

From the title, "Time Masters: Vanishing Point," it looks like you might be heading back to the future to a concept that you developed in the 1990s. For new members of DC Nation, can you explain the Vanishing Point?

Vanishing Point is a station that exists at the end of time, shortly before entropy destroys all there is. It's used by the Time Masters to monitor time and preserve the integrity of the time stream.

And what about the rest of the characters that have dedicated their lives to protecting the time stream - the Linear Men? Will we be seeing them too?

Hmm...that would seem like something of a natural, wouldn't it?

As you mentioned, Rip Hunter has formed a team of Time Hunters to find Bruce Wayne in the form of Superman, Green Lantern and Booster Gold - how does Rip go about recruiting this dream team?

It starts with the basic premise that Bruce Wayne is alive, though lost in the distant past. At that point, beyond time travelers like Booster and Rip Hunter, Superman and GL become the most obvious people to join the search party.

What's the team dynamic like within this group? Supes and GL are both pretty strong-willed and Booster is, well, Booster. Is Rip really in charge here, or is it leadership by committee?

I wouldn't say that Rip is "in charge" per se, but as the man with the most knowledge, he's definitely running point. This is a story that's taking place on his turf.

You have a long history with both Superman and Booster Gold, but have you done much work with Hal before? What do you like most about the character?

Most of my contact with Hal probably took place during "Zero Hour," during his Parallax days. All that aside, I love the character of Hal and the tapestry of the Green Lantern Corps, in general.

Do any other major DCU superheroes or villains play a role in this series?

Oh, yeah. But we need to keep some of that under wraps for now.

The original Source post teased that this project leads into "the next major DCU event" and Geoff Johns and Francis Manapul revealed in "The Flash" #1 that something called "Flashpoint" is coming. "Flashpoint." "Vanishing Point." Should we be reading something into this?

Should you? Far be it from me to tell anyone what they should do. However, it's fair to say that it would be a great fit.